Breaking
by LC Rose
Summary: I am Kagome. I will not break. **ONE-SHOT** Kagome/Naraku, COMPLETE


DISCLAIMER: The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

A/N: This story is dark; coming from my more morbid side. Things are left open for the reader's imagination. Do not expect definite answers. There are none. But I like it like that.

**BREAKING**

"Miko," cooed a seductive voice. The voice felt like black velvet caressing across her skin. "Miko, where are you?"

She tried to focus herself, tried to see who was talking to her. She wanted to turn and see whoever was there, but something stopped her. Something held her back and she stayed laying where she was. _Where was she?_ She tried to reason this out. It was a simple question, after all, but this simple question had no answer. She wasn't sure where she was. "I'm falling," she finally replied. Her voice sounded faint to even her own ears.

The dark voice, sounding somewhere behind her, laughed. The laugh sent a chill up her spine and once more she felt the need to turn and face this speaker, but, once more, she was stopped. By what she could not say. Her body shifted, the silk kimono covering her slithered across her skin much like the voice had. Another shiver raced up her spine. "I want you to come to me, miko," the dark voice said.

She closed her eyes, fighting the sudden desire to give in to the voice's demands. Then a warmth blossomed in her chest; fought away the chill that seemed to have invaded her. Her eyes snapped open. "No," she answered, her voice sounding stronger, firmer.

"No?" the voice questioned her. "You will not come to me? Your lover, your friend, your confidant, miko?"

_Lover?_ she thought. Her mind clouded again. Visions of red swirled around. There was a face, but she could not remember the details. Something was not right, though. This man who spoke to her now was not the voice of her love. "You are not my lover," she finally answered.

A hand stroked down her arm and settled on her hip. There was another dark laugh behind her. The shiver that raced through her body did not go unnoticed. "You seem unsure of yourself, miko. Perhaps I should remind you?"

More visions flashed. She shut her eyes, trying to sort through them. The visions, images of people and places, came too rapidly. Something desperately wanted her to remember what she was, who she was. The force was so extensive, though, her muddled mind could not make sense of it. The voice behind her seemed to sense this. He gave another low chuckle. His hand crept slowly up her body once more. Long fingers stroked the side of her face, moved back into her hair. The fingers ran through her locks with a gentleness that belied the darkness she had heard lacing his voice. "My poor miko," he cooed once more. "My poor, poor miko. What has become of you now?"

*b*

She came to with a rush of breath. When had she lost conscious? What had happened to her in between then and now? Where had the voice gone?

Sitting up, she looked around her. She was in a simply done room occupied by only herself and the large bed she was laying upon. Several layers of rich furs lay underneath her. A single candle, suspended from the wall across from her bed, was lit. The light did nothing to diminish the shadows. If something lurked in the far reaches of the room, she would not know it was there unless it moved forward.

Why did she feel as if she were waking for the first time when she knew she'd seen this room many times before?

Her hands moved and reminded her that she was chained. Yes. Delicate cuffs of silver etched with strange markings encircled her wrists, ankles, and neck. An equally thin but strong chain connected them all. A separate chain connected to the collar of her manacles attached to the wall behind her. Why was she chained? She could not recall but she knew the chains represented pain. A sharp, binding pain. Almost automatically, as if it were second nature, she pulled the sleeves of her kimono underneath the cuffs on her wrists. Without the cold metal touching her skin, she felt somehow warmer and not quite so alone.

Her hands ran down the side of her body. There was a scar on her right side, above her hip. Peeling back the kimono, she glanced down at herself as if seeing for the first time. It was an angry looking scar; star shaped and rough. What had happened to her there? She did not remember and it irritated her. Something kept whispering to her that the scar was important, that the scar meant something.

She suddenly remembered why she had awoken. She was parched. Looking down at the foot of her bed, she saw the silver tray perched there, awaiting her attendance. As usual there was a plate of simply prepared food, a silver cup, and a pitcher of water. Helping herself to some of the water, she absentmindedly ate the food. It tasted bland, but she could not recall if she'd ever had anything else but this food.

The candle on the wall flickered. A breeze barely felt brushed across her skin. She turned and looked into the darkness that surrounded her. From the direction of the breeze came that voice again. "You have awoken, miko."

She did not reply. She made no movements to register the voice. Her defiance was met with another low laugh. "Are we feeling defiant this morning, miko?"

There was movement in the shadows, but she could not make out any forms. Her body started to feel tired. Her eyes fell to half mast. She remembered why the food always tasted bland. It was drugged to make her lethargic. Then there were hands stroking down the sides of her arms, urging her to fall back against the covers behind her. She did. She could not help herself.

The hands shifted her body and brought her back to where she'd been when she'd woken up. "Who are you?" she asked with slurred tones.

"I told you who I am, miko."

"No," she insisted. "You lie."

The hands holding onto her body tightened momentarily. Just enough to cause her a brief amount of pain. Then the hands became soothing once more. "You should not say such things," the dark voice chided. "You might make me angry."

For some reasons those words brought fear to her, but she suppressed it. Fear was not something she thought she showed often. More visions swam before her eyes, but the voice sounded again. It drew her back from them. "Miko. You will stay with me this time. No swimming off to your happy places now."

_Happy places?_ More faces swam before her eyes. The man in red was more defined now. Shockingly white hair, long and thick but soft to the touch. A half smile that filled her with warmth when he graced her with it. His eyes. Warm and sweet like honey. The feeling of sunshine on her body, warming it. The smell of nature surrounding her. There were others but they were too vague for her to focus on. The man in red had her full attention. She could almost see his face...

A sharp pain snapped her back to the present and a gasp escaped her lips. She managed to glanced downwards. The hand that had been previously caressing her was now digging into the vulnerable flesh of her abdomen. Slowly, the clawed tips of the fingers withdrew. "I warned you," the dark voice said. "You did not listen."

Eye wide open, she could not look away as thin streams of blood ran down her side and began pooling on the bed. Her blood was so red. Red. Red like someone else she knew.

She felt herself start to fade again but managed to shake herself out of her. The promise of more pain still easily hung in the air. "Now look what you've made me do," the voice said, chiding her as if she were a child who had done something wrong. "Your lovely kimono is ruined once more."

_Once more?_ This had happened before, she was sure. There had been greater pains, as well. Punishments, he had called them. Lessons on how to treat the one who held your life in their hands. A careful correction of her path. "I'm sorry," she whispered because she knew that was what he wanted to hear.

"No...you are not," the voice said again.

The hands returned to her side and she flinched as those long graceful fingers ran through her blood, smearing it across her skin. Already the flow was ceasing, but how was that possible? He had pierced her so deeply. The blood had rushed forward so quickly. Closing her eyes tightly, she repeated her whispered words. "I'm sorry." But who was she apologizing to?

The claws stabbed into the previous wounds from before, reopening them. She gasped in pain but tried to give it no voice. If she gave her pain vocals, she knew it would greatly please this dark voice that seemed to haunt her. "Who do you apologize to, miko?" the voice asked harshly, his claws flexing while still embedded inside of her.

"You," she pressed out.

"No. You are lying to me again, miko."

Suddenly she was spun onto her stomach. The kimono was ripped from her body. There was only a moment to take in the sudden chill before a near blinding pain bit into her back. She buried her head into the thick furs, trying to block out the screaming she was hearing as she pain intensified. Then she realized the screaming was her own. It sounded so foreign, so unreal. Then the screams ended and she came to realize that it was because she had no more strength to give them.

Slowly the pain subsided. The voice drew away. She was alone once more.

Moving only brought the lancing pain from earlier back and so she laid there in perfect stillness. The smell of her own blood was heavy in the air and she tried to recall what had happened. Her throat was sore. Her eyes hurt. Her soul burned within her. The visions came back. The red one danced before her. He seemed to be above her a great deal of the time. She was always trying to look up to him. Was he up in something? A tree, perhaps. Forcing herself to close her eyes, she pictured him and let her blood red lover carry her to peace.

*b*

She almost groaned her denial as the voice returned her to life. "Miko," it called insistently. "Miko, open your eyes."

Her eyes opened and the first thing she knew was pain. It was almost as if her back was on fire. "Stay still," the voice said. "You'll open your wounds again."

"Again?" she repeated.

The soft chuckle sounded above her. "Yes. I found you laying on the floor. Where did you think you were going, miko?"

"Going?" she repeated again. Her mind was so fogged over. She was chained to the bed. How could she have possibly been trying to go somewhere? "How could I be going somewhere?"

"Yes. You know that you are mine, miko. No one else may have you. You belong to me."

She squeezed her eyes shut. This was not right. She did not belong to this dark voice. She did not belong in this dark place. She did not act like this!

The chains binding her seemed to sense her thoughts and another wave of agony washed over her. She moved, feeling the slightly repaired skin of her back tear open once more. The smell of her blood filled the air. Tears fell from her eyes even though she willed them not to. She did not want to cry in front of this man, this dark monster who tormented her.

Clawed fingers wiped the tears away, letting her know they had been seen. "Do you cry for me, miko?"

"No."

"Who then calls for your tears? Surely you do not cry for yourself. You know that you came to me willingly. You wanted this to happen. You wanted me to tame you, make you mine. Do you not remember, miko?"

A vision of herself offering her hands to a man swam before her eyes. Yes. She had given herself over to this fate, but why? "No," she lied.

Clawed fingers ran through her hair. "I shall forgive that lie, miko. You give yourself enough punishment as it is. Far more than I could ever do."

She felt him leave. The bed she lay upon dipped as he rose and there was a noticeable lack of warmth coming from her side. A moment later cool silk covered her chilled body. Footsteps, lightly placed, rounded the bed. She opened her eyes but all she could see were dark robes before her. A clawed hand, pale and perfect, settled on the bed near her face. The hand reached forward and wiped away another tear that had escaped her eyes. "Where do you go when you are not with me, miko?" the voice asked again. "Is it some place where the sun in shining? Are there others there? Is there, perhaps, a man in red?"

She tried to stop the betraying signs, but her eyes widened momentarily at the mention of the man in red. The man standing before her laughed lightly. The clawed hand began stroking her cheek lovingly. "My sweet miko," he cooed again. "My poor sweet miko. What has become of you now that your toment yourself with visions of those you betrayed?"

_Betrayed?_ "No."

"No? You do not believe you betrayed them by giving yourself to me?"

"No."

"Oh, but you did. You walked willingly into my arms. You gave yourself to me. Why won't you let yourself accept that? Give me everything. Not just your body."

"No."

The clawed hand moved up into her hair and gripped it viciously. "Your lover is dead," the voice above her snarled. "They are all dead. Because of you, miko."

"No," she said again but her voice was failing her.

The grip tightened painfully, jerking her head up. "They are dead," the voice repeated. "No one is coming for you, miko. No one is here to save you from me now."

"I am here," she breathed through clenched teeth as the pain increased. "I am here."

"You do not even know who you are, miko."

She closed her eyes. The visions swam before her eyes once more. "I know," she bit out. "I know."

"Oh? Then tell me, miko. Who are you?"

"I...I am...I am..."

The voice laughed at her, mocked her. The grip lessened and then the fingers moved to comfort the stinging pain. "You are mine, miko. That is what you meant to say."

"No. No. I am...I am..." Another image came to her. Clear. More focused than any of those before. She was astride the back of the man in red. They were racing through a forest. He turned and looked at her over his shoulder. There was a half smile on his face and she felt like she was melting in his warm honey hued eyes. He was speaking to her, but she couldn't hear what he was saying until he called her by her name. "I am Kagome," she whispered.

The man in front of her stiffened. "What?" he demanded.

"I am Kagome," she said again, stronger than before. Raising her head with strength she did not know she possessed, she looked up at the face of the man standing before her. Violet eyes filled with hatred glared back down at her. "And you are Naraku," she spat. "And I shall never belong to you."

The violent anger swimming in his eyes flared for a brief moment but was carefully hidden away once more. A smile of cunning spread across his face like oil across water. "No, miko," he replied in a soothing tone. "One day you shall break. It might not be today. It might not be tomorrow. But you will break for me. You will give me everything I desire."

"Inuyasha will come for me," she promised him.

"Inuyasha is dead, miko. They are all dead. I have not lied to you. You are alone now. There is just you and I. And I have patience. A great deal of patience. You will break, miko."

He turned from her then and strode off into the shadows. The sound of a door opening and closing came and she knew she was alone once more. She was alone with her sanity and her memories. And that was perhaps the worst thing that could have happened to her. With her sanity she knew everything that had occurred. She knew what had brought her to this place in life and she knew the battle she waged. Every day Naraku came to her, demanded from her. He teased, cajoled, punished, hurt, and stroked her with loving care while his sick and twisted words filled her ears. The only place left for her to hide was in her insanity.

But she would not break, she vowed. She would not break for this monster, this murderer, this...this...this...demon. She would be strong. Just as Inuyasha would want her to be. She would not break.

Closing her eyes, she repeated the mantra over and over in her head. As she drifted off into sleep, her lips still formed the words. "I will not break. I am Kagome. I will not break. I am Kagome. I will not break. I am Kagome. I will not break."

Just as her insanity rose once more to take over, her sane self sighed with sadness. It was a losing battle, she knew. She would break...eventually.

_fin_

_updated a/n 9-09: This piece has inspired an awesome poem done by Nosce te ipsum (4theluvofanime) that, in my own opinion, puts this one shot to shame. Very deep, dark shame. You may read the piece at (remove the spaces) http:/ all poetry (dot) com / poem / 5741873. It will be well worth your time. LC  
_


End file.
